Man, I'm just about two weeks late, right? Sorry about that. I couldn't get a chance to type this up. Like I said before, this is present tense, and I've never written anything as long as this in that tense. So it would be much appreciated if you could tell me how I did! And this is the last one, I swear. Thanks for reading!
-x-
It's been six weeks since the kidnapping, and Alex and Bobby have not returned to work yet. He visits her, she visits him. They've been keeping up their partnership, their friendship.
She's at his door now, its late afternoon. She's all he has, but she has more, much more. She's got a sister and brothers and a mom and a dad, but she still chooses to be with him, and he's not complaining. He's made dinner and he tells her so. She's smiling, and oh God, he loves it when she smiles. I should cook more often, he thinks.
Dinner comes and goes. Bobby is a profiler, but he can't seem to figure out his tiny, sarcastic partner who could tell him to jump off a bridge and it's likely he would. But it looks like she liked dinner, so he's pleased. And now she's trying to do the dishes, but he's saying no, let him be a gentleman for once, chivalry isn't dead. She's rolling her eyes, but he can't help but think that she appreciates it.
"I brought a movie," she says, getting a DVD out of her bag. He's never heard of it, but he's happy just to watch it with her.
She put it one and now she's sitting next to him, touching him slightly. His heart speeds up.
It's a comedy, something for him to laugh at, a romantic comedy. She seems to like it, so it's fine with him.
After a while, the doorbell rings. He moves to get it, but she's faster, so she answers it.
"No one's there," she informs him, and he's content, until it rings again and she wastes no time getting up. But this time he follows her. She glares at him sternly, but doesn't say anything.
There's no one there again, but this time they can see a figure running away. "Stupid kids," she says, but she can see just as well as Bobby that the figure was at least twice the size of any normal kid, and his protective side takes over.
"You didn't have to come with me," she says as she makes her way back to the couch.
"I wanted to see who was there," Bobby defends, but she knows that's not the reason he followed.
"I can take care of myself," Alex continues, and it's like déj� vu all over again.
"Let's not fight, please," he practically begs, and he expects yelling, and more fights. He waits for when she walks out on him again, because he's finally pushed her too far. It was just a matter of time before she quit on him, spent time with someone who could appreciate her right. It's in his personality to press and press, and now, Eames is going to leave.
But she doesn't. "Bobby," she says quietly, softly. "You didn't get us out of that house in Deptford, and you couldn't protect me. Bobby," her tone is softer, gentler, "there was nothing you could do."
His mind is spinning, he's trying to process all of it, but she's going on. "You're a good guy, Bobby. It's not your fault."
He wants to run, he wants to yell. He wants to kiss her.
"I know it's your nature to withdraw, but I told you before, and I'm telling you now. I'm not going anywhere." Her hands are on his chest, calming him, and his breath is becoming uneven. She's whispering now, and it's driving him insane. "I've invested way too much time and energy, and I'm not going to just quit."
And then, Bobby stops thinking. He's always thinking, always has been, and now, he's bringing his head down to his partner's. On complete impulse, he's pressing his lips to hers. His arms are going to her hips, bringing her closer. She's putting her arms around his neck, and this pushes him further, he's picking her up easily, and he's bringing her to his bedroom.
Never, ever, in a million years can he see being able to kiss her, to be with her. It's practically a dream come true, and he can't imagine doing this with anyone, or at least enjoying it as much.
He's laying her on the bed now, right before getting on himself. They lie on their sides, facing each other. Slowly, as gently as he can, he moves some stray strands on fair out of her face and she kisses him. He returns it, moving his hand in a circular motion on the small of her back. She runs her hands over his jaw line, feeling the prickly hairs that started the making of a beard.
He sighs and keeps exploring her mouth, loving her taste. It makes sense that Alex doesn't taste like vanilla or berries or anything like that. She tastes like Alex, something delicious and intoxicating, mixed in with the faint hint of skittles.
He could devour her. She's not pushing him, he observes. She's going as far as he'll go, letting him take the lead, set the pace. He wants nothing more than to be with her, to be able to call her his. But he stops, painstakingly so.
He means to ask "Should I stop?" but those aren't the words that come out. "What are we doing?" he inquires.
She takes his head in her hands, and he swears his heart has stopped. She looks in his eyes, straight on, and with raw honesty, she says, "I love you, Bobby. I want to do it all, with you, and no one else, but I don't want to rush into anything."
He's almost shaking. He wants to take her right now, to kiss ever inch of her body, to divulge himself in the wonderland of Alex's body. And he's about to, but she stops him. "Are you sure you want to do this now? I'm not a one night stand, Bobby. You have to take me, all of me. Is that what you want?"
He imagines a scenario where they're sitting, having breakfast together. That's what he's wanted, wanted more than anything physical. He wants to spend time with her, only her, every spare minute.
"You, Alex," he tells her, trying to sound as perfect as possible. "Just you, for you to be there for me, so I can hold you whenever I wan. You, that's what I want."
She smiles. "Good," she says, straddling him. "Because I didn't want to stop."
His heart has stopped. No, he realizes, it's beating so head that it feels like it's stopped.
-x-
Everything's quiet now. Its early morning, and Bobby can practically hear the birds chirping. He looks down at his naked chest, and sees scars left from the chains. He briefly wonders where his kidnappers were, what they were doing. They hadn't been caught, even with the descriptions given to the artist. ("A scruffy Enrique Inglesias," Eames had insisted, making the room chuckle, until they were silenced with one of her infamous glares.) He considers for a moment that had it not been for them, it's likely that his small, tough, beautiful partner would not be lying next to him at that moment.
He strokes her hair, and she doesn't look very feminine now, the way she's on her stomach, her mouth slightly open, hair going everywhere, but to him, she looks perfect. He kisses her on the forehead, gently, because she's a light sleeper. Her eyes flutter open anyway, and she's confused at first, can't seem to remember what happened last night, but then she sees Bobby, and she remembers, and he wants to take a picture of her expression, because it's so heartwarming that it brings a smile to his face.
"Hey, you," and she sits up next to him.
"Eames," he says and she smirks because after everything he still calls her by her last name. "I love you. And if I couldn't have you to depend on in the last month and a half, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be alive right now."
She touches him, puts her hand on his shoulder, because the contact is comforting. "Last night, you told me that you wanted me to be there for you," she tells him. "But I always have been." She kisses him on the cheek.
"I've got to be completely honest here," he says, and his arm snakes around her waist. "When we were first partnered together, I had a huge crush on you."
Alex giggles, giggles for God's sake. "That's so cute."
Bobby blushes. "How are we going to tell people?"
"Well, Elliot Stabler will never stop teasing me," she says thoughtfully.
"And Mike Logan may not ever lease us alone about it," Bobby adds.
"Plus, there's the possibility that Ross will separate us when we get back," Alex reminds him.
"So maybe we should keep this quiet, at least for a little while," Bobby finishes, his heart dropping a little.
"Yeah," Alex agrees, and they are silent for a moment, content with being in each other's arms.
"I don't think I can act completely professional around you," Bobby suddenly bursts out. Alex looks at him, surprised, and a little amused. "I mean not when we're interviewing a witness or interrogating a suspect or anything," he continues. "But when we're doing desk work, someone will notice me looking at you too long, and Mike Logan will figure it out, and then he'll tell Ross."
Alex tries not to laugh, but is having trouble with it. "Let's tell him, then," she resolves. He's still a little worried, but she rests against him, and he's comforted. And in a companionable silence, they relax.
"We could threaten him with his relationship with our ME," Alex says suddenly. Bobby is startled.
"What are you talking about?"
"They're dating. Haven't you noticed?"
No, he hadn't. All of his thoughts were Alex, work, food, sleep, and Alex in the past year or so.
"Yeah I believe that if they can be together, we can too."
Bobby smiles. He doesn't care, just as long as he can have as many moments like this as possible. He holds Alex closer to him, and there is another comfortable silence.
"You're still worrying about Elliot Stabler, aren't you?" he guesses after a while.
"It's just, he acts like a teenager sometimes!" Alex complains, and Bobby laughs a little. They would be okay, he thinks. This will work.
-x-
I really like the idea of Alex and Stabler being friends, because I love him so much. Anyway, it's been fun, and please, tell me what you think!